Study: Numerous restaurants and hotels have Google reviews deleted

In Hesse, of around 850 online entries of hospitality businesses analyzed, roughly every sixth entry was cleaned up of Google reviews. The number of deleted reviews per business ranged from one to more than 200. In Dresden, Erfurt, Halle, and Magdeburg, the share was around 15 percent; in smaller towns such as Wernigerode or Aschersleben, around 10 percent; and in the Lutherstadt Wittenberg and Stendal only 5 percent. In the Odenwald, of 87 businesses analyzed, around 9 percent were affected.

Since the end of April 2026, Google Maps in Germany has displayed a notice on business entries when reviews were removed in the past year due to complaints. Specifically, a note appears below the review overview indicating that a review was removed due to a defamation complaint. Google emphasizes that a deletion notice does not affect the ranking or placement in local search results. However, the indicator only captures deletions due to defamation; reviews removed for other reasons are not included in the displayed counter, according to Peter Lassek, an attorney at the Verbraucherzentrale Hessen.

What Google classifies as "defamation"

Among other things, Google classifies false statements of fact or opinion expressions that are not factually justified as "defamation." Companies can also argue that the author of a review was not a customer. In practice, SWR research reported lengthy and complicated procedures in which consumers attempted to have deleted reviews restored – often without success. Many establishments told dpa that they only reported reviews they considered fake, insulting, or simply fabricated. The corresponding classification is left to the businesses.

Jürgen Benad, managing director of the Dehoga federal association, said trust in review platforms depends on carefully distinguishing between legitimate criticism and abusive content. In the case of insults, fake reviews, or false statements of fact, he said it was understandable for businesses to initiate a review and removal. "Sachliche Kritik sollte stehen bleiben – auch wenn sie für einen Betrieb unangenehm ist", Benad said. He also pointed out that online reviews play a greater role in metropolitan areas, "etwa weil viele Menschen spontan entscheiden und sich schnell orientieren wollen".

Industry and consumer protection with different emphases

Gisbert Kern, chief executive of the Hotel and Restaurant Association Dehoga in Hesse, said reviews were often removed because they violated platform guidelines or could be proven to come from people who had not been guests at all. "Gelöschte Bewertungen bedeuten nicht automatisch, dass ein Unternehmen berechtigte Kritik unterdrücken wollte", Kern said. In principle, the industry welcomes more transparency on review platforms, and it is right for platforms to make comprehensible how they handle reviews. The association is equally critical of purchased positive reviews, "weil sie den Wettbewerb verzerren und das Vertrauen der Verbraucherinnen und Verbraucher untergraben".

Steffen Kroschwald, professor and director of the Institute for Consumer Research and Sustainable Consumption at Pforzheim University of Applied Sciences in Baden-Württemberg, views the phenomenon critically. "Das begünstigt Overblocking. Also dass am Ende mehr gelöscht wird, als eigentlich gelöscht werden sollte", he said, referring to professional service providers and law firms that do not understand deletion procedures as a fairness instrument but as a business model. Consumers can object to deletions, but often lack the time and documentation to do so. "Oft ist der erste Blick die Sternebewertung, und die spielt bei Entscheidungen eine maßgebliche Rolle", Kroschwald said – adding: "Ich persönlich würde inzwischen recht wenig auf Sternebewertungen geben."

Germany in a European comparison

One extreme case illustrates the situation: fans of bodybuilder Markus Rühl had left mass five-star reviews as a joke at the restaurant "Zum Rühl" in Oberursel, without ever having eaten there. Some restaurants partly reported isolated attempts to exert pressure by threatening bad reviews. Research at more than a dozen hospitality businesses in Hesse also found that not a single operator was willing to comment on the topic. A new restaurant operator in Leipzig told dpa that he had triggered deletions because he did not want to inherit the many negative reviews of his predecessor.

Germany also stands out at the European level. According to an EU transparency database under the Digital Service Act, the EU rules for digital platforms, more than 756,500 posts on Google Maps were deleted across Europe in the first half of 2026 due to "illegal content" – almost 99.9 percent of the deletions affected Germany. Many restaurateurs recommend not reading reviews in isolation: what matters is the content of the reviews, recurring patterns, and whether businesses respond to criticism in a comprehensible manner.